A Texas man choked his 2-year-old daughter to death while her mother and grandfather watched on FaceTime.
Police said Deontray Flanagan, 25, picked up his daughter, Zevaya, from daycare on Monday. He then confronted and attacked her mother, Kairsten Watson, at a nearby Walmart before fleeing with the child in his car.
He later led law enforcement on a 45-minute high-speed chase with Zevaya unbuckled in the car. During the police chase, he allegedly FaceTimed Watson and Zevaya’s grandfather and demanded the password to Watson’s phone.
As they tried to reason with him he assaulted the crying toddler on FaceTime.
“I know in her mind she probably was just like ‘what did I do?’” said Watson. “‘Why are you doing this to me for? Like I love you, why are you hurting me?’”
Zevaya’s grandfather, Curtis Watson, pleaded with Flanagan to stop hurting her. He hoped he could reason with Flanagan man to man.
“But then he showed me the lifeless corpse of my granddaughter,” Curtis said. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. To have to go through that type of anguish and pain.”
A tactical SWAT team eventually apprehended Flanagan after a standoff. He was charged with murder, but prosecutors say charges may be upgraded to capital murder once his daughter’s autopsy is complete.
A judge initially set his bail at $1 million on Tuesday, but the judge raised his bail to $2 million on Wednesday. Typically 10% of the bail amount — or $200,000 in cash — is required to post bond.
Court records, obtained by ABC News local affiliate WFAA, show Flanagan was upset with Watson because she was reportedly seeing another man and was trying to move on after breaking up with Flanagan.
Zevaya’s heartbroken mother is making plans to lay her only child to rest.
“I gave her baths. We laid together and we sleep together,” said Watson. “And now I won’t be able to do any of that anymore.”
“All I was trying to do was provide for my daughter and like move on and I guess he just didn’t want that,” said Watson. “Didn’t want that for us.”
A GoFundMe has been created to pay Zevaya’s funeral expenses.
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